This is how I first started thinking about reading lists. And I wondered if they could help me in some way.

I was feeling dissatisfied with the amount I was reading. I think the MORE you read, the more dissatisfied you are with how LITTLE you read. Also, it takes much less energy to watch YouTube after a long day of work than read a book, and sometimes that’s exactly what I do.

I became a little obsessed, as I do, and concocted several reading lists, consisting of books I hadn’t read, as if I were preparing to teach half a dozen more classes. With help from a friend, I created a Best Fantasy Novels syllabus. Then I created a Psychology of Marketing reading list (largely co-opted from Scott Adams), and a Rule the World syllabus, full of how-to books on key life skills.

The syllabus format motivates me because I like:

Checking items off a list

Seeing the big picture

Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: Reading the books will be fun, but I’ll also enjoy saying I completed this list.

The Zeigarnik effect (the sometimes overwhelming urge to complete what you’ve started)

Does the idea of a reading syllabus intrigue you? Do you already have reading lists? Are they filled with books you wish you had already read? I had a professor who said that everyone wishes to have written, but not many wish to write – and reading is similar to writing in enough ways that I feel this to be an important and pertinent question.